Thomas Howell and Thomas Griffith hated each other. When fate conspired to place them together in the claustrophobic confines of the Smalls Lighthouse, only one would live to tell the tale.
The Smalls are a bleak collection of basalt rocks, jutting from the Irish Sea about ten miles off the coast of Wales. The original Smalls lighthouse was erected in 1776 by Henry Whiteside, a luthier by trade. His design was unique, differing from the traditional stone structures. It was constructed upon nine wood and iron pillars, which allowed the rough seas to pass freely between them. A small hut, roughly 20 meters in diameter, was situated on top of these posts and served as the living quarters for the keepers.
The Smalls Lighthouse made maritime history for two noteworthy events. The first and most regarded was in 1837 when Captain Thomas Hubbard Sumner discovered the “circle of equal altitude,” which forms the basis of modern celestial navigation. The second event, less celebrated, occurred in 1800. It was known as the Smalls Lighthouse Tragedy and forever changed how lighthouse crews were assigned.
Howell and Griffith’s disdain for each other was well documented. Prior to their assignment, there were several accounts of the men shouting at each other and nearly coming to blows. Considering their mutual animosity, it seems strange that they would agree to share such a remote and intimate post. However, in the winter of 1800, that is precisely what they did.
It did not take long for things to go wrong. Soon after their arrival, Griffith began suffering from a debilitating illness. Howell cared for him as best he could, but the ailment only worsened. Howell lit the lighthouse distress beacon, but the gales that swept across the Irish Sea were fiercer than usual. Even if a passing ship had noticed their beacon, they would have been powerless to render aid, as the storms made landing impossible. As the days passed and rescue remained elusive, Thomas Griffith died.
Howell was aware of the public perception of his relationship with Griffith. Rather than commit the remains to the sea, he elected to preserve the body lest he be accused of murdering his partner. Unfortunately, the storms persisted, and the beacon went unanswered. Night after night, as the hut swayed in the besieging waves, Thomas Griffith began to rot.
The slow decay, the putrid stench, and Griffith’s dead eyes silently admonishing him were more than he could bear. Howell felt his sanity slipping. In desperation for some relief from his foul companion, he stripped the planks from the interior walls and constructed a coffin. Then, with a determined effort, he placed Griffith in the coffin, drug him outside, and secured him to the precarious ledge above the raging seas. Still, his beacon burned in vain.
As the gale-force winds continued to batter the lighthouse, Griffith’s coffin began to break apart. Howell tried to make repairs, though he simply lacked the resources. Eventually, one of Griffiths’s arms broke free and began flailing with the wind, rapping against the lighthouse window. To Howell, it looked as if the hand with its rotted flesh was beckoning him to come outside. For weeks, the rapping continued. Howell Imagined Griffith’s voice and laughter howling in the winds. The hands seemed to have some undead life, moving and gesturing with the storms.
It is unknown exactly how long Howell was alone with his partner’s corpse, weeks, maybe months. Passing ships reported the distress beacon yet were unable to assist because of the storms. Some passing mariners even reported seeing someone standing on the ledge of the lighthouse, waving for help. This could only have been the corpse of Griffith, lashed to the hut in his shattered coffin.
Upon his rescue, Thomas Howell was unrecognizable by his friends and, by most accounts, driven mad by the experience. Trinity House, the governing authority for Irish lighthouses, held a hearing on the incident. As a consequence of the events at Smalls lighthouse, it was decided that, from that point on, lighthouse crews must be no fewer than three men. This tradition carried on until the 1980s when the last lighthouses became automated.
Today, the Smalls Lighthouse Tragedy is remembered by several books, plays, and most notably, Roger Eggers’ film The Lighthouse. Eggers’ film draws heavily from the case of Howell and Griffith as well as The Flannan Isles Lighthouse Mystery, which occurred on Eilean Mor in December 1900.
Jason Roberts is a Seattle-based author noted for his acclaimed Western Horror series The Dead Wind Trilogy and other works of cosmic horror infused with historical fiction. His web-based series, Dark Distractions, examines paranormal mysteries, unexplained phenomena, and all things strange.
